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Topic: Telescopic Tops (Read 2056 times)

I've been building some supers in anticipation of next season. I went by the local big box lumber store yesterday after work. I was inquiring about tongue and grove boards. They didn't carry them but referred me to somewhere else that was closed due to it being Saturday and around 5:30pm. He said they'll probably have them but it'll cost you and arm and a leg.

I thought about making it out of plywood but I wasn't sure about warping. Any suggestions?

I built mine out of 3/4 exterior plywood with pine boards on sides, I painted mine inside and out then covered top and sides with galvanized tin , I haven't noticed any warpage yet, some are 5 years old.

I use 1/2 plywood.. I use it for the inner cover and bottom board as well.. saves me from having to buy different thicknesses and have half a dozen half used sheets of plywood stacked against the wall. Its a bit thick for the inner cover. Not thick enough for the bottom board, and perfect for the tele cover. I DO, use 3/4" x 2" pine boards for the sides. I nail, and glue the plywood down to the sides. The stiffness of those glued/nailed pine boards helps keep the ply from warping. I also make my tele covers about 1/4 inch larger than the commercial ones. Lets them slide on and off with less fuss. I used to TIN the tops as well, but have recently just painted them with about four really good coats of exterior grade white paint.. Only time will tell if they hold up. Two possibilities... I have to start using tin again.. OR... consider them expendable and just replace them when they start to go bad... If they last at least three years I will consider them expendable..

Go w/ the 3/4" & paint. Lowes has a plywood grade B/C that works really well & relativity knot free. Used it for my nuc box tops and bottoms all last summer with out painting and they all held up good.To use boards would involve cutting a ship lap (or double rabbbet) joint, if you've got access to a table saw & dado blades.

I first kept bees in the sixties and have never used a telescoping cover so maybe I am missing something. A migratory cover and if you are really in need of more equipment, an inner cover, are all one needs. Simple is good and fewer places for vermin to hide and accumulate.

I first kept bees in the sixties and have never used a telescoping cover so maybe I am missing something. A migratory cover and if you are really in need of more equipment, an inner cover, are all one needs. Simple is good and fewer places for vermin to hide and accumulate.

I doubt your missing anything if its working for you in Montana.. As in everything bee related its just a different method.. I LIKE having a bit of ventilation through the top in the summer through the hand hole and out the notch in the inner cover.. and I also like being able to flip the inner cover for winter so the bees have a top entrance/exit.. One of the beeks I assist regularly uses a 2" spacer so he can add sugar for winter, and it has a 3/4 inch hole drilled into it.. same result just a different method. Having said that.. there is a lot to be said for simplicity... You have no top ventilation at all Vance?

The tin tops on my covers ripped in the corners as the wood expanded last winter I live in a very humid area my sides on my bottom boards pulled away from the back as the bottom board changed dimensions also frustrated .

I make mine from 5/8 exterior grade ply and 1" pine. I just paint them - no tin. So far, so good 4 years on. No warping, no splitting.

Holy fortress lid!!! LOL Apparently its WET where Brother Dave is, so hes probably going to have to SEAL the bejeesus out of his wood, and Merince has bees that take robbing into the realm of modern warfare :lol: Vance uses migratory covers.. less humidity there? It is easy to profess MY method, because it works... however... stuff me into the situation where the other fellow is keeping bees.. I'll probably change my tune quickly.

My covers are 3/8 plywood with a 5/16" x 3/4 rim (cut from scrap 1 by) with a 2" parallelogram cut in with a nail for a center pivot on both ends. I like the flexibility of one on each side. across the top are 3/8" 1 1/2" stiffeners cut from scrap 2 by. These are nailed onto top box with 4 ea 5 penny nails that only get driven all the way in when moving bees. They are what the migratory beek who trained me in the sixties used and I can't seem to find anything I like better. I live in dry country and they last forever if they get a fresh coat of paint when they need it. I get ten out of a sheet of cdx plywood and they cost very little other than winter days.

Cool thread! Telescopic covers are one piece of equipment that I always build myself, the ones sold by suppliers are too shallow for my needs. I also make them a bit wider as well to accommodate tar paper or foam around the hives and still place them over.

For the tops, T & G "car-siding" (the mostly yellow pine used to enclose freight cars) purchased at any lumber yard is comparable to plywood in price without the potential worries over what's in the plywood, especially exterior grade or treated. Sorry...it is a personal concern but s/b considered.

I use 1 x 4 for the sides because they provide the deeper overhang necessary for my vent/feed boxes which are reversed depending on the season, square it, screw it, paint it and cover with any kind of metal. They last for years.

Logged

"Trust those who seek the truth, doubt those who say they've found it."

Sorry, I don't seem to be smart enough to post pics though a friend on this forum jumped up and down on my head trying to teach me! PM me and I wil give you an email address and if you will send yours, I will send you a pic that way. Sorry I am slow!

Great Falls Montana is on a high plains 12 inch annual rainfall between mountain ranges. We get most rain from april to July and occaisionally fall rains in September just to impede the grain harvest. We get a lot of snow over five feet average but it is dry snow that doesn't have much moisture on the flats. More rain and snow in the mountains. That keeps the rivers and streams running and irrigation possible.

And Great Falls place name is for the great falls of the Missouri River. The river that really has a tributary called the Mississippi. That is if the Missouri had been mapped first the Missouri would have been what went to the Gulf.

Ok.. so your ventilation is in the upper deep as opposed to the Cover itself? Lower entrance closed off completely? Same principle I use with the sugar on top for winter, though your wrap looks like it probably has a bit more R value than my roofing felt. Thanks for the Pics!!!

Vance G;Do you make or purchase your hive wraps? I'm in a high desert too. Winters are cold, relatively dry, and windy here. So far have used migratory tops for about 8 months of the year and tele. covers during the worst of winter, though I'm beginning to hate having to keep and store the extra gear.

The wrap comes from B&B honey in Huston Minnesota. What you see is the 23 inch wrap and it covers the two deeps, the feeder rim, the sound board and 2" insulation over that. I duct tape it tight after I put the mountain camp sugar on about now and check again in mid February to see if they need more. It is supposed to be R 3.7 insulation but the durable plastic to keep out the wind is more what I want. I am reusing them for the third year and they still are holding up. I staple it and remove staples with hive tool as I do not try to get them sunk all the way in and use 9/16 length. The system is working well for me, but might not in wet country. With the hole bored under the handhold in the upper box, I think it would. I have only found the sound board to be soggy on a couple hives. Never figured out why them and not the one next door.

Try "Advantec" . It's a high quality OSB that is very weather resistant. Won"t swell up or warp, But it's heavy. It's used primarily as decking for floors of houses. I have it on a couple of hives.

Advantech... wax impregnated plywood.. Guranteed for 50 years, EVEN if submerged in water... I used it for my ROOF and floors when I built my new house in Maine.. that was... 20 years ago? When I built my new house here in Iowa they told me at the lumberyard they had never heard of it.. i just assumed it wasn't made anymore.. where did you find it?

Advantech... wax impregnated plywood.. Guranteed for 50 years, EVEN if submerged in water... I used it for my ROOF and floors when I built my new house in Maine.. that was... 20 years ago? When I built my new house here in Iowa they told me at the lumberyard they had never heard of it.. i just assumed it wasn't made anymore.. where did you find it?

OldMech,I wasn't familiar with it, but did a little looking around after seeing it mentioned....I'm definitely interested.

"We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions." - Ronald Reagan

Advantech... wax impregnated plywood.. Guranteed for 50 years, EVEN if submerged in water... I used it for my ROOF and floors when I built my new house in Maine.. that was... 20 years ago? When I built my new house here in Iowa they told me at the lumberyard they had never heard of it.. i just assumed it wasn't made anymore.. where did you find it?

OldMech,I wasn't familiar with it, but did a little looking around after seeing it mentioned....I'm definitely interested.